Among college and high school coaches, there seems to be one state that comes up over and over again as the "wild west" in terms of rules governing touchy topics like transfers and school of choice.
That state? Florida.
A new bill is aiming to change that popular national narrative of high school sports in The Sunshine State.
Senate Bill 538 is proposing a number of changes to high school athletics in Florida and takes aim at eligibility issues, and also addresses the use of how coaches utilize voluntary donations - an issue that got state championship head coach and veteran NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater into hot water in recent years.
Perhaps most importantly, the proposed bill "would require non-traditional student-athletes to play sports at a high school in the county in which they reside." The term "non-traditional" student may seem foreign to some, but Florida defines them as students who are homeschooled, attend virtual school, or attend certain charter or private schools. This law would require those students to compete for a high school in the county in which they reside, thus closing a popular loophole being exploited by some Florida high school powers.
Just recently, a Florida school that captured a state title had a number of players who resided in Georgia, USA Today shared.
That change alone would drastically change a number of rosters overnight, especially at some of the best programs the state has to offer. Florida had become a state known for kids choosing to transfer in-season, and then they would would immediately be eligible at their new school, provided the change took place before the start of the state playoffs.
The bill provides four instances in which a player would be allowed to participate in sports at two different schools during the same year, and they include if the student:
• Is a dependent child of active duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders;
• Has been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone;
• Has moved due to a court-ordered change in custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or death of a custodial parent; or
• Has been granted approval by the applicable governing organization’s executive director.
To prevent kids looking to transfer from being left in an eligibility limbo of sorts, the bill also recommends strict guidelines like the FHSS providing an eligibility determination on a student athlete no later than 14 days after a request is made.
The state legislature has passed the bill, and it now awaits a signature from Governor Ron DeSantis before it would go into effect. The Governor's signature would mean the law would go into effect this summer, and immediately alter rosters around the state.
All in all, this seems like a much overdue change to bring Florida high school athletics more inline with what other states are already doing.
See a full summary of the bill via this link, and stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.